Deviled Eggs

Yvonne Button of Jacksonville, Florida, writes, "I know it seems ridiculous that I am writing to Gourmet to request a recipe for something as unexotic as deviled eggs, but all I want is a very good, basic recipe. At many gatherings, I've noticed that the deviled eggs disappear much more quickly than the fancy hors d'oeuvres."

Your choice of paprika will determine this hors d'oeuvre's depth of flavor. You can garnish with any kind (hot or sweet Hungarian, hot or sweet smoked, or regular), but the better the quality, the more complex the flavor will be.

Preparation

Cover eggs with cold water by 1 1/2 inches in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a rolling boil, partially covered. Reduce heat to low and cook eggs, covered completely, 30 seconds. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 15 minutes. Transfer eggs with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking and let stand 5 minutes.

Peel eggs and halve lengthwise. Carefully remove yolks and mash in a bowl with a fork. Add mayonnaise, mustard, and cayenne and stir with fork until smooth, then season with salt and pepper. Fill pastry bag with yolk mixture and pipe into egg whites.

Available at Formaggio Kitchen (888-212-3224) and Tienda.com (888-472-1022).

While this is a good, somewhat old standard for deviled eggs, I made a couple of major modifications. I cut the mayonnaise down to three tablespoons and added one mashed avocado and the juice from one, small lime and about one teaspoon of Sriracha sauce and several minced garlic cloves. These changes incorporate the avocado suggestion from the May Clinic diet, the basic recipe from Epicurious and the Sriracha which can improve nearly any recipe.

A good basic recipe, I like to use some sour cream and mayo combined rather than this all mayo version. For those of you struggling with peeling the eggs. I have tried many methods including the one in this recipe, but the one that works the best is to steam the eggs. Bring water to a boil in the bottom of a two part steamer pot, then put the eggs in the top steamer part and put on the bottom pot and cover. Unlike the recipe, you leave the water boiling while the eggs are steaming (14 minutes), when done put the eggs in cold water for about 10 minutes. It works great! The shells slide right off.

The cook from Litchfield, Connecticut (review from 2003) must be a brilliant cook. I did as he suggested and added the honey and the hot sauce instead of cayenne. I just made this dish for a Christmas Eve party and let me tell you the honey adds a mystery to it. I did use mayo, and I used horseradish dijon, otherwise followed recipe to the letter. Great recipe. A keeper. Oh - and the sweet smoked paprika is a must sprinkled on top!!!

31/2 stars. a very simple but well
liked recipe. i did add a small amt of
horseradish sauce and dusted with
sweet paprika. i didnt have the pastry
bag and was racing the clock so didnt
have time to improvise so i just filled
them with a spoon but they went like
hot cakes. everyone likes a good old
fashioned treat that looks pretty on a
platter.i let them stay in the hot
water 12 minutes covered after i turned
off the gas and the yolks came out
perfect.creamy and yellow.i put them in
ice water for 10 min. then i ratttled
them around the drained pan to get them
crazed and cracked. then they peeled
easily and looked lovely.THE SECRET TO
EASY PEELING IS NOT TO USE VERY FRESH
EGGS.YOU SHOULD HAVE THEM A WEEK OR
MORE IN FRIDGE. IF YOU BOIL FRESH EGGS
THE SHELL STICKS AND YOU END UP WITH
MISSHAPEN mutant EGGS AS I DID LAST
PASSOVER.

This is a really good basic recipe. I made this for Easter dinner because so many folks are so specific about what they like or don't like in hard boiled eggs that it's just better to go simple. These did the trick. I did "up" the style a bit with smoked paprika as garnish, but other than that, I stayed true to the recipe. I personally missed the pickle, but I think I was the only one :)

this is a good basic recipe for making deviled eggs.
you only need to make it once (or twice) before
mastering it and getting adventurous. i like mine
with a little less mayo, a little more mustard,
horseradish and topped with caviar. but that's the
lovely thing about this recipe. it gives you the basics
on which to grow.

I made these for a Halloween party and
they were a hit. I didn't have dijon
mustard (shocking, I know) so I used a
Spicy Brown mustard. I garnished with
smoked paprika and that made all the
difference in the world. Will make
these for many parties to come.

This is a great basic recipe. I was feeling
adventurous and made them with homemde
mayo. This is great for those who find
regular mayo too bland...you can kick up the
mayo any way you lik. I also made a few of
them with wasabi powder. Very tasty.